Common Questions 3: Experience of Foreignness Informing Pedagogy
The Wabash Center
Additional authors: Eric C. Smith, Katherine Turpin, Shatavia Wynn, Yii-Jan Lin , Sharon Higginbothan
Welcome to the Common Questions, an exciting initiative brought to you by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. In this series, we bring together some of the most esteemed scholars and educators in the field to engage with a central, thought-provoking question. The goal is to challenge and inspire. By exploring these questions, we hope to create a dynamic platform for scholarly dialogue, illuminate complexities in education, and enhance our understanding of the transformative power of teaching and learning in these vital disciplines. Featuring a diverse range of perspectives, this effort is a means of expanding the borders of academic rigor with profound spiritual and philosophical inquiry.
This time, we asked…
“Where is the most foreign place you have visited?
How might this experience with foreignness inform/influence your teaching?”
Gathered here are responses from:
Eric C. Smith, Iliff School of Theology
Katherine Turpin, Iliff School of Theology
Sharon Higginbothan, Chatham University
Yii-Jan Lin, Yale Divinity School
If you are interested in sharing you response to this prompt or future Common Questions, please reach out to our blogs editor, Donald E. Quist at quistd@wabash.edu.
About Eric C. Smith
Eric C. Smith is Associate Professor of Early Christian Texts and Traditions at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, and a first-year student in the MFA program at the Sewanee School of Letters.
About Katherine Turpin
Dr. Katherine Turpin is Professor of Practical Theology and Religious Education at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO, where she also serves as Associate Dean for Curriculum and Assessment. She enjoys working with doctoral students and early career faculty to develop agency and artistry in their teaching lives. Her current research and teaching interests include the relationships between education, imagination, and social change, teaching in digital environments, and unlearning white supremacy. Her publications include Questioning Our Faith in Practice: Unlearning White Supremacy in Practical Theology (Brill, 2024) and several books, chapters, and articles on youth ministry and vocational formation across the lifespan.
About Shatavia Wynn
Shatavia L. Wynn (she/her/they/them) joins Religious Studies and Africana Studies as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Wynn received a PhD in Religion, Ethics, and Society from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Wynn’s scholarly interests include popular culture, phenomenology, aesthetics, and Black feminist and womanist thought. Prior to attending Vanderbilt, Dr. Wynn earned a Master of Arts in Religious Studies with a concentration in Black Religion in the African Diaspora from Yale Divinity School. Dr. Wynn completed undergraduate studies at Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC, where they earned a BA in Philosophy and Religion.
About Yii-Jan Lin
Yii-Jan Lin is a historian of ideas and biblical texts and the author of The Erotic Life of Manuscripts and Immigration and Apocalypse. She is associate professor of New Testament at the Yale Divinity School.
About Sharon Higginbothan
Sharon Higginbothan, PhD, has served as an Executive Director, Director, and Chief Operations Officer and has spent over twenty years managing teams, people, and organizations whose missions were informed by social justice. Sharon has served in the academy as an adjunct professor, a visiting scholar, and as a consultant in Theology, to assist with and ensure the inclusion of diverse authors and scholars in the curriculum. Sharon is impassioned about service to vulnerable populations and organizations that serve them. She is committed both to working with and developing leaders who will co-create inclusive, robust, and equitable work cultures with open environments where people flourish. Sharon has facilitated countless consultations, workshops, lectures, and keynote speaking engagements.